Complete Health Indicator Report of Adolescent Births

Definition

The adolescent birth rate is reported as the number of live births per 1,000 adolescent females.

Numerator

The number of live births to adolescent mothers.

Denominator

The number of adolescent females in the population.

Data Interpretation Issues

The adolescent birth rate does not include abortions or miscarriages, and is an underestimate of the adolescent pregnancy rate.

Why Is This Important?

Research indicates that bearing a child during adolescence is associated with long-term difficulties for the mother, her child, and society. These consequences are often attributable to poverty and other adverse socioeconomic circumstances that frequently accompany early childbearing.
Compared to babies born to older mothers, babies born to adolescent mothers, particularly young adolescent mothers, are at higher risk of low birthweight and infant mortality. These babies are more likely to grow up in homes that offer lower levels of emotional support and cognitive stimulation, and they are less likely to earn a high school diploma. For the mothers, giving birth during adolescence is associated with limited educational attainment, which in turn can reduce future employment prospects and earning potential.

How Do We Compare With the U.S.?

Utah's adolescent birth rate has been lower than the United States' overall rate over the past decade, but is higher than several other states. Utah and U.S. adolescent birth rates per 1,000 females age 15-19 for the past five years were:
2009-Utah 30.8/U.S. 37.9
2010-Utah 27.9/U.S. 34.2
2011-Utah 23.7/U.S. 31.3
2012-Utah 23.2/U.S. 29.4
2013-Utah 20.6/U.S. 26.6*
*Preliminary data

What Is Being Done?

Teen Pregnancy Prevention Programs:
The Utah Department of Health receives federal funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families for two programs addressing teen pregnancy prevention in Utah.
The first program is for Abstinence Education Programs targeting Utah youth ages 10-16 with a specific focus on youth in the Utah Juvenile Justice System, youth of Hispanic origin and/or non-White race, and youth residing in areas with adolescent birth rates higher than Utah's state rate. Through a competitive bid process, the Utah Department of Health (UDOH) sub-contracted these federal funds to several community organizations.
The second program is for Personal Responsibility Education Programs (PREP). Funds must be used for a program designed to educate adolescents on both abstinence and contraception to prevent pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections, including HIV/AIDS, and three adulthood preparation subjects (healthy relationships, education and career success, and healthy life skills). Through a competitive bid process, the Utah Department of Health sub-contracted these funds to several community organizations. The target population is Utah youth ages 14-19 with a specific focus on youth in the Utah Juvenile Justice System, youth of Hispanic origin and/or non-White race, current teen moms, and youth residing in areas with adolescent birth rates higher than Utah's state rate.
For more information or questions regarding the two programs mentioned above, contact 801-538-6253, or egerke@utah.gov.

Available Services

Plan Your Health: Live Your Life Booklets:
This resource promotes the concept of lifetime health among adolescents. It also focuses on the importance of making a life plan and deciding whether that plan includes becoming a parent someday or not. Furthermore, this tool outlines many variables and behaviors that increase the likelihood of having healthy pregnancy outcomes in the future. Whether or not a pregnancy occurs in the future, adolescents need to be aware that how they treat their body now, can directly affect birth outcomes down the road. The information provided in this tool empowers adolescents with the knowledge they need to make wise decisions about their health, life goals, and reproductive future. Copies of this resource are available free of charge to Utah residents and organizations. To request copies, please call 801-538-6253, or send e-mail to egerke@utah.gov. The booklet is available in English and Spanish and can be viewed in English at the following site: http://health.utah.gov/mihp/pdf/Teen_RLP_082709.pdf.

Related Indicators

Related Relevant Population Characteristics Indicators:

Related Health Care System Factors Indicators:

Risk Factors

Experiencing birth during adolescence can increase a teen's risk of acquiring a sexually-transmitted infection as well as seriously hinder future financial stability due to limited educational attainment.

Data Notes

Data Sources

Population Estimates: National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) through a collaborative agreement with the U.S. Census Bureau, IBIS Version 2013

National Vital Statistics System, National Center for Health Statistics, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Birth Rate for Females Aged 15-19 by Utah Small Area, 2012-2013 and Utah and U.S., 2013

Utah Small Areas

Rate per 1,000 Adolescent Females

Lower Limit

Upper Limit

Note

Record Count: 65

Brigham City

28.2

20.8

37.4

Box Elder Co (Other)

25.2

18.6

33.3

Logan

18.0

15.1

21.3

Cache Co (Oth)/Rich Co (All)

16.5

12.5

21.4

Ben Lomond

41.3

35.1

48.2

Morgan Co (All)/Weber Co (E)

8.9

6.0

12.7

Ogden (Downtown)

48.6

40.4

58.0

South Ogden

33.7

27.2

41.4

Roy/Hooper

27.1

21.7

33.5

Riverdale

27.3

20.1

36.4

Clearfield/Hill AFB

29.1

24.5

34.2

Layton

19.6

16.1

23.6

Syracuse/Kaysville

11.3

8.4

14.7

Farmington/Centerville

6.7

3.9

10.8

Woods Cross/North Salt Lake

20.8

14.8

28.5

Bountiful

10.0

6.8

14.1

SLC (Rose Park)

57.8

48.7

68.1

SLC (Avenues)

6.8

3.0

13.5

*

SLC (Foothill/U of U)

**

**

Magna

38.2

30.0

48.0

SLC (Glendale)

69.6

58.6

82.2

West Valley (West)

40.7

35.8

46.1

West Valley (East) V2

57.1

49.2

66.0

SLC (Downtown)

11.9

8.0

17.0

South Salt Lake

64.8

52.0

79.8

Millcreek

10.4

7.2

14.6

Holladay

12.9

8.9

18.0

Cottonwood

7.9

4.8

12.2

Kearns V2

48.1

40.4

56.8

Taylorsville (E)/Murray (W)

44.0

36.0

53.2

Taylorsville (West)

26.6

20.7

33.5

Murray

35.8

27.6

45.8

Midvale

53.8

43.0

66.4

West Jordan (NE) V2

27.7

21.1

35.6

West Jordan (SE)

24.0

18.6

30.6

West Jordan (W)/Copperton

16.6

12.6

21.5

South Jordan

10.6

7.7

14.1

Sandy (Center)

19.8

15.4

25.0

Sandy (NE)

**

**

Sandy (SE)

6.6

3.8

10.8

Riverton/Draper

10.0

8.0

12.3

Tooele Co

30.2

25.4

35.7

Lehi/Cedar Valley

14.3

11.3

17.9

American Fork/Alpine

8.5

6.1

11.4

Pleasant Grove/Lindon

11.0

8.2

14.4

Orem (North)

23.2

17.8

29.7

Orem (West)

15.9

11.9

20.9

Orem (East)

6.6

3.5

11.4

Provo (North)/BYU

3.0

2.1

4.2

Provo (South)

23.9

20.0

28.2

Springville/Spanish Fork

17.3

14.3

20.6

Utah Co (South)

25.5

20.2

31.8

Summit Co

16.1

11.4

22.1

Wasatch Co

20.9

14.7

29.0

TriCounty LHD

41.7

35.5

48.7

Juab/Millard/Sanpete Co

17.1

13.8

20.9

Sevier/Piute/Wayne Co

29.8

22.2

39.2

Carbon/Emery Co

30.3

23.6

38.4

Grand/San Juan Co

37.3

29.0

47.3

St George

19.1

15.7

23.0

Washington Co (Other)

18.3

14.7

22.6

Cedar City

17.4

13.8

21.8

Southwest LHD (Other)

27.9

20.1

37.7

State

20.6

19.7

21.4

#

U.S.

26.6

##

Data Notes

A description of the Utah Small Areas may be found on IBIS at the following URL: http://ibis.health.utah.gov/query/Help.html.
*Use caution in interpreting, the estimate has a coefficient of variation >30% and is therefore deemed unreliable by Utah Department of Health standards.
**The estimate has been suppressed because 1) the relative standard error is greater than 50% or the relative standard error can't be determined or 2) the observed number of events is very small and not appropriate for publication.
#2013 Utah rate.
##2013 U.S. preliminary rate.

Data Sources

Population estimates produced by staff in the UDOH Center for Health Data and Informatics. Linear interpolation of U.S. Census Bureau and ESRI ZIP Code data provided annual population estimates for ZIP Code areas by sex and age groups, IBIS Version 2013

National Vital Statistics System, National Center for Health Statistics, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Data Notes

Data Sources

Population Estimates: National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) through a collaborative agreement with the U.S. Census Bureau, IBIS Version 2013

National Vital Statistics System, National Center for Health Statistics, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

References and Community Resources

Utah Department of Health
Maternal and Infant Health Program
http://health.utah.gov/mihp/
National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy
http://www.thenationalcampaign.org/
Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Division of Adolescent and School Health (DASH)
http://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/

More Resources and Links

Evidence-based community health improvement ideas and interventions may be found at the following sites:

Utah DOH

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